MLB 09 The Show – Road To The Show Enhancements

Hey everyone, Aaron Luke (Designer) here to bring you the next installment of the MLB 09 The Show blogs. This entry will focus on the enhancements to Road To The Show. This year’s edition of RTTS has received enhancements to nearly every aspect of the mode.

Starting with the front-end aspects, the PS3 Create Player system has received some new additions that will allow you to customize even more aspects of your player. With the new Sounds Of The Show feature, we’ve been able to support audio customizations that will allow you to pick not only your batter walkup music, but also your reliever entry music and a home run celebration song. In addition to editing custom music, you can also create custom fan chants, cheers, and jeers to assign to your player (or any other player using the Edit Player feature). The player accessories have also seen upgrades to support a variety of new items including: wrist tape, batting gloves in pockets, glasses, eye black, baggy pants, and stirrup socks for your old schoolers. But the player customization doesn’t end with the Create Player process — we’ve also added in the ability to edit your player any time after creation. You won’t be able to edit his position or attributes, but you will have full reign on editing his appearance, accessories, and the all-important player number.

Once you’ve settled on your player’s look, you now have a choice – enter the draft and let your fate be decided by the powers that be, or for those OCD heads not willing to let fate decide, you will still have the ability to select your favorite team.

Another new, yet subtle addition sure to make an impact is RTTS specific fast-forwarding options. We’ve heard your calls and answered by giving you more control over the appearances you take part in. The new options include the ability to set how many fielding opportunities you take part in, with settings ranging from: All = same as before, you’ll take part in all fielding opportunities, Half = you will only participate in non-routine chances, or None = any fielding for your player will be skipped.

You will also be able to set what types of baserunning opportunities you’d like to participate in: All = you will participate in all baserunning opportunities for your player, Lead Runner = you will only be involved in situations where your player is the lead runner, or None = all your opportunities will be fast-forwarded.

Lastly, to allow you to control how much CPU teammate hitting you want to watch, we’ve given you the option to choose between the following settings: All = you will see all pitches of the at-bat, Half = half the at-bat will be fast-forwarded, and Quarter = three-quarters of the at-bat is fast-forwarded.

As some of you may have read in the first blog: Franchise Mode Enhancements, we’ve made several roster related additions this year, including 40-man rosters, Arbitration, Waivers, and more. These additions will also be a part of the Road To The Show experience. Your player will be subject to exposure to these elements, just as the real-life counterparts have to deal with. Now managing your contract negotiations will be even more important as a club may try to undercut you, offer you a contract to buy out some of your arbitration-eligible years, or even string you along until they are able to simply renew your contract.

Moving on to the gameplay portion, one of the big goals this year for the in game aspects was to provide the user with a more immersed experience by incorporating RTTS player-oriented presentations. Now when you win a big game, you’ll be able to see the team celebrations. The presentation aspects aren’t just focused on winning big games — we’ve created custom game intros for your player as well. So if you’re a shortstop starting on defense, you’ll see an intro of your player warming up on the infield. We’ve taken the presentations even further to revamp the in game goals so that it too is presentation based. You’ll now see your goal, or situation, but you’ll also get player specific stats relevant to the situation you are in.

The gameplay experience itself has also seen one major new addition. The baserunning controls have been customized to use the left analog stick to control all your runner movements. No longer is baserunning as simple as a single button press. Now you will have to maintain his movement by pressing on the analog stick in the direction you’re heading (or retreating). If you’re in the old mind frame of looking for the CPU to take over your runner at a certain point, you’ll keep looking, as that won’t happen now. If you’re on first and the CPU attempts a pick off, you are responsible for getting him back. On a ball hit in play, your runner will be left out to dry if you’re not paying attention and sending him yourself.

To round out the gameplay experience, we’ve also made improvements to the training points you receive. The stats in the past were a little too simple and needed more depth. This year, we’ve included conditions to certain stats so that getting 1 hit in 1 at-bat is worth more points than getting 1 hit over multiple at-bats. This is especially important for a pitcher in that working deeper in the game will reward you higher points than before. The training area has received a major improvement above just the points you’re awarded; we’ve created an all-new training mode for batting and base stealing. I’m not going to divulge much on the topic here, as Eddy Cramm (Senior Designer) will be elaborating on this in a blog post to come soon.

As you can see, Road To The Show in MLB 09 promises to be a different experience than before with both major additions and minor subtleties to round out the mode. Thanks for your time and good luck with your Road To The Show.

Game looks awesome. The most recent MLB game I own is The Show 06 and I am definitely going to spend 60 bucks for this masterpiece. Just one question though. I usually play as Houston and I was wondering if some stadiums will have the flexibility of playing with the roof open or closed. Also, does the weather change during games like rain delays or even snow? Thanks.

Looking Great!!! Just wondering if your created player will now be able to play in spring training games every year if he signs a contract beforehand.(Last year it went straight to reg season if you signed a contract)

BTW Being Able To Pick Your Bats Size Would Be Cool In Future Games To Come.(Ex Longer/Faster Bat For Contact, Bigger/Slower Bat For Power.)

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING I”D LIKE TO SEE (HOPE THE CREATORS ARE READING) IS HAVING ROSTER UPDATES AND BEING ABLE TO TRANSFER THEM INTO YOUR FRANCHISE. LET’S SAY YOUR IN A SEASON AND A BLOCKBUSTER TRADE HAPPENS, IN YOUR SEASON THE REAL PLAYERS WON’T BE ON THE RIGHT TEAM AND IF YOU WANT TO HAVE THEM, YOU’D HAVE TO RESTART YOUR SEASON. THIS IS THE ONLY ADVANCEMENT I TRULY REALLY CARE ABOUBT.

CHRIS GILL PLEASE REPLY…. LET ME KNOW IF IT CAN AT LEAST BE DONE FOR FUTURE INSTALLMENTS IF NOT THIS ONE… THANK YOU…. BEST SPORTS VIDEO GAME EVER… MAKES REAL IMPROVEMENTS UNLIKE EA AND 2K, THEY JUST KEEP THE SAME GAME WITH A NEW COVER…. LOVE THE SHOW… 35 DAYS TILL MARCH THIRD, YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

one more thing… Hunter Pence is my favorite player on my favorite team…. he looked (face)pretty bad last year and his batting stance and throwing style were wrong… any improvements to his signature style or others with weird styles

1) Yes, with the Sounds of the Show feature, you can edit music by putting up to 3 marks in a song. Then when creating your player and selecting one of the song options (i.e. HR song, etc..), you get to choose which mark to start the song from.

2) We don\’t allow you to alter the real player\’s likenesses, but do allow you to customize their accessories, stance/delivery, and personalized music/fan chant options.

I hope they fixed the difficulty of batting. Pitching seems perfect, as does fielding, but batting is unbelievably hard if you dont use guess a pitch. If I do use that feature, I’m blowing teams out 15-0. There’s just no in between.

Aaron,
Is there still a way to “manage” a game and if so, have you guys incorporated the one pitch mode to help speed it up some without having to simulate it? Looking forward to March 3rd! Will be a day 1 purchase without a doubt!

Yes, we have manager mode – a single exhibition style game where you only manage the team. There is also the option to manage a game in Season and Franchise modes. We don\’t support a \”one pitch\” style game within manage mode but do provide fast-forwarding options.

Can anyone tell me if they have updated Kaufmann stadium finally? its honestly a breaking point.

Last year I kind of understood not updating the Game monitor in center field since it was only 3 months old(biggest HDTV in america) But this year is no excuse If your not familiar look at before and after shots. The stadium look is completely different.

I wanted to know if the players still run through each other….In other words, in ’09 are the players going bump each other when they come together…Don’t know if I’m asking the question right…But, If someone knows what I mean please answer…

I may have miss read
So if I am at bat I have complete control of the runner does this mean if I hit the ball for a double and have a guy on first he will not move automatically I would have to move him instead?

I think what you\’re asking is, if there\’s already a guy on first, do you have to send him as well. No, the CPU runners will advance/retreat on their own. However, if you hit a ball for a double, your player will not run to second unless you direct him. He will run to first on his own, but that\’s it, the rest is in your control. Also, this baserunning scheme is only in RTTS, and not in any other game mode.

I’d like to second the question regarding music. Will we be able to choose which portion of the song plays for intros/HR celebrations, will it default to the very beginning, or will it just randomly pick a section?

Thanks for taking the time to read our questions and answer as many as you can. Cannot wait for March 3rd!

Yes, with the Sounds of the Show feature, you can edit music by putting up to 3 marks in a song. Then when creating your player and selecting one of the song options (i.e. HR song, etc..), you get to choose which mark to start the song from.

Have y’all addressed the bug that occurs when loading the game? Both PS3 versions of The Show would lockup during the initial load screen. The only solution would be to disable networking on the PS3, which defeats the purpose of implementing online gaming or SportsConnect.

Yes, it\’s been addressed. Due do how things were initially implemented, the server status could affect the entire game. We have changed how and when we connect users online. The loading screen/Start screen issue will not occur in MLB 09 The Show.

First of all, will batting/baserunning drills improve your player’s overall, give you a temp. boost for the next game, or will it just be for the users own personal gain.

Secondly, will these drills be PRIOR to a game, meaning you have the option to enter the batting cages, finish and the game start right then instead of coming back to the RTTS menu and then going to play the game.

And thirdly, will these batting cages/baserunning drills be available in franchise mode where we can select a certain player to train before a game?

I have been wondering about this about the new game. I do see based on the past screenshots that the new Yankees Stadium and Citi Field is in the game. But I am wondering if the newly renovated Kauffman (Royals) Stadium is in the game?

The stadium had some major changes this offseason and the looks of it have changed dramatically.

Question: In the future games of mlb the show do you plan on adding in the world baseball classic in the game or even as part of road to the show so you can try to earn a spot to play for your country.

I love the show, bought all since 06 but it needs improvements devs plz read!

-cuttoff men dont line up properly when ball get hit to fence (they should line up to third base not second)
-sound of bat hitting ball is not realistic
-why not include some games in rain, wind? rain delays, putting on taking off tarp?
-why cant i upload last years rtts?, its way too long to finish then i have to start all over in newest game!?
-first baseman pick WAY too many bad throws at first
-rtts camera should be full 360 degree controlable! at least it should not pull itself back automatically
-fix players stances (where they stand in the box) Arod/jeter do NOT crowd the plate
-pitchers are way too acuarate with all their pitches, not realistic, i shouldnt be able to throw a change up low and away when ever i want…
-game has a “staic” feel, players movements are too stiff
-why do all the players wear the same cleats?
(i hope u read my notes, i have passion for baseball, played in college and again i love the show)

u guys are focusing to hard on unimportant things, (the average gamer doesnt care about customizing crowd chants and walk up music) we just want to play the game

(more)
-why cant i change the look of my created player in rtts after i begin my career, at least socks, facial hair, weight something plz
-i wish u would bring the angle of the camera in rrts down closer to the player to bring u more into the action

Hey Aaron great article but I have a very important question that wasn’t addressed in your blog but needs to be.In previous versions of RTTS your player being promoted depended more on your overall rating than your performance.This was clearly obvious as I had positions player stuck in the minors for yrs despite hitting over .400 every year and leading the league in every offensive category(and every leading my MLB team in stats during my brief call ups).Same thing for my closer who had saved over 40 a year, even being perfect in save chances a few years as well.Has this glaring issue been made more true to life?? Hope for a response and truly look forward to 09′

Hello i just want to congratulate you guys for providing the best baseball game the earth have ever seen. But there were a few issues i noted on the RTTS mode last year that even though they were dissapointing to me, they did not tarnished the overall experience of the game, since im still playing it today. But here it goes. One thing i noticed was when you were on 1st base the “runner” started to take his lead like if he was going to run to the shortstop, instead of leading towards second base, and if you attempted a steal, the player re-adjusted to go to 2nd, but in the process you lose about a step. 2nd. AI controlled outfielders (specially LF) sometimes made dumb plays, if the play was going to happen @ home plate and the cut off man was close to first instead of going to the plate he threw to the cut-off man resulting in a run scored.

3rd, Outfielders and i mean all of them seem to have no sense of urgency while going after a base hit resulting on extra bases, they seem like they dont charge to the ball and literally jogg to go get it, i want to see them be aggressive. 4th Double plays when the first baseman gets the roller, and the pitcher has to cover 1st base, ok the 1st baseman throws to 2nd, but when the 2nd baseman or SS make the throw to first the literally throw a floater. 5th Infielders just wont catch linedrives when hit at them, they jump to go get em but they just dont make the play resulting on extra-base hits. Ex. Jimmy Rollins is an excellent defensive SS but even him cant make a jumping catch, the guy ended up in 2nd and the shut out was over. And this is something that happens on every single game i play in. and 5th The infielders when they slide to make a play on a roller, they dont get sense of urgency they just throw the ball so relaxed that any baserunners can beat the throw, everyone knows that when an IF slides or goes head first to make the play they get on their feet quickly b/c it usually ends up being a bang bang play. Thank You and sorry for the long testament! ;)

Has the inbalance between batting with and without guess a pitch been adressed? The game is way too easy with it on all difficulties, and very difficult without it turned on. There is no in between at all. To me it’s the absolute worst part of this game and will keep me from buying it unless I hear it’s been fixed.